UP FRONT When I was growing up—in what has to be said was quite a religious environment—I remember Judgement Day being something that was discussed with a certain amount of fear and trepidation. As far as I could gather, somebody very fierce was going to decide whether I had been good or bad, and depending on which box they ticked, I was to be either thrown into a very large fire or could live happily ever after. There was also a third, interim option, but that never seemed very clear. However, the point of how to behave in life was pretty binary. I got the impression that judgement would be swift; there would be no option of appeal, and if the wrong box was ticked, things got warm and smokey very quickly—usually after a long drop and a very loud scream. And for some reason, there was always a fluffy cloud involved. Being a little boy I imagined this would all happen in a grown-up world which, to my young mind, would be at least centuries away. How that has changed. It feels lately as if Judgement Day is an ever-repeating nightmare that people wake up to daily, and it generally doesn’t have anything to do with a firepit or a person with a list of names. But it does seem to be delivered through a cloud—just not the fluffy kind that I had imagined. Judgement today is dished out through the internet via untraceable cloud servers. And it seems that verdicts passed through cloud-based forums, article comments and social media are to be even more feared than that meted out by religious icons. And who knew that there might be so many transgressions? They seem to grow daily. Having an opinion of any kind is best avoided. It doesn’t really matter what it is, there will always be someone with fire-breathing anger ready to disagree, and rarely in a constructive way. And judgement comes in so many forms. Apart from the obvious, such as looks, personality, religion or political interest, it seems judgement extends to the reinterpretation of history and even mindreading—today people don’t even have to know what you think to disagree. It’s like a Bill Murray Groundhog Day nightmare. If waking up every day means being attacked just for breathing, one can see why so many people are disillusioned with modern forms of communication. Fergus Byrne
Published Monthly and distributed by Marshwood Vale Ltd Lower Atrim, Bridport Dorset DT6 5PX For all Enquiries Tel: 01308 423031 info@marshwoodvale. com
THIS MONTH
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Cover Story By Robin Mills Event News and Courses News & Views Social Capitalism - an economy to benefit the people By Andrew Blackwood Spring Flowers at Cogden By Philip Strange Signs of the Past By Cecil Amor
24 24 26 28
House & Garden Vegetables in June By Ashley Wheeler June in the Garden By Russell Jordan Property Round Up By Helen Fisher
30 30 32
Food & Dining Roasted New Potato Salad By Lesley Waters Wild Garlic and Nettle Soup with Dorset Snails By Mark Hix
34 Arts & Entertainment 34 Jeanette Kerr at Slader’s 36 Galleries 39 Preview By Gay Pirrie Weir 41 The Siren Call of the Sea By Fanny Charles 44 Screen Time By Nic Jeune 45 Young Lit Fix By Antonia Squire 46 Health & Beauty 46 Hearing the Voice of the Wild By Fergus Byrne 47 Services & Classified “Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.”
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8 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2022 Tel. 01308 423031
Russell Jordan Robin Mills Gay Pirrie Weir Antonia Squire Philip Strange Lesley Waters Ashley Wheeler
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